Identifying and measuring land-use and proximity conflicts: methods and identification

André Torre,Haï Vu Pham,Habibullah Magsi,Luc Bossuet,Armelle Caron,Philippe Jeanneaux,Romain Melot,Thierry Kirat,Orestes Kolokouris,Ségolène Darly,Anne Cadoret

doi:10.1186/2193-1801-3-85

Abstract

This text aims to present the methodology of study of land-use conflicts performed in recent years by a multidisciplinary team, and to reveal the methods of survey and data collection, as well as the structure of the resulting database. We first define the scope of our study by providing a definition of these conflicts, of their characteristics and motives, of the ways they manifest themselves and of the actors involved (I). We then present the methodology we have used to identify conflicts; it is based on a spatial analysis and the combined use of different data collection methods including surveys conducted by experts, analyses of the regional daily press and of data from the administrative litigation courts (II). Finally we present the resulting Conflicts © data base, with its tables and nomenclatures, in which the data collected in different fields are reconciled and analyzed (III), before providing a few examples of how this method can be used to analyze case studies in developed and developing countries (IV).Jel codesD74; C83; K41

Highlights

Though conflict analysis is inscribed in a long tradition of social sciences, at the first rank of which lies sociology (Lewin, 1948; Touraine, 1978; Stephenson, 1981; Simmel, 2008; Freund, 1983; Coser, 1982; Wieviorka, 2005), researchers and practioners have preferred to focus their attention on the questions of conflict resolution rather than on the analysis of conflicts and of their characteristics (Castro and Nielsen 2001; Jeong 1999; Fisher, 1997; Neslund, 1990; Owen et al, 2000), except in cases of armed conflict (Boulding, 1962; Diehl, 1991; Hensel, 2001; Starr, 2005)
The daily regional press (DRP); Surveys conducted by experts; Data from administrative litigation courts; Data through other sources are often added in studies on developing countries, where some of the previous relevant sources are missing; Internet Geographic Information System (GIS)
We have presented our method of identification of conflicts, based on a diagnosis of the conflicts that occur in selected areas and on the combination of various methods of data collection, including interviews with experts, analyses of the DRP and of litigation rulings

Summary

Introduction

Though conflict analysis is inscribed in a long tradition of social sciences, at the first rank of which lies sociology (Lewin, 1948; Touraine, 1978; Stephenson, 1981; Simmel, 2008; Freund, 1983; Coser, 1982; Wieviorka, 2005), researchers and practioners have preferred to focus their attention on the questions of conflict resolution rather than on the analysis of conflicts and of their characteristics (Castro and Nielsen 2001; Jeong 1999; Fisher, 1997; Neslund, 1990; Owen et al, 2000), except in cases of armed conflict (Boulding, 1962; Diehl, 1991; Hensel, 2001; Starr, 2005). The growing concerns about the environment, the issues of sustainable development, urban sprawl processes and about questions about people's living environment have recently led to renewed interest for issues related to land use conflict, called land use and neighbourhood conflicts or environmental conflicts (See, among many others: Humphreys, 2005; Deininger and Castagnini, 2006; Magsi and Torre 2014; Mann and Jeanneaux, 2009; Campbell, et al, 2000; Darly and Torre 2013a,b; Cadoret 2009; Melé et al 2004; Dziedzicki 2001; Charlier 1999; Cadene, 1990) Interest in these issues has grown in the fields of economics, geography, land planning as well as in sociology and social-psychology and has pointed to the necessity of analyzing conflicts, their occurrences, their impacts and main characteristics, more thoroughly. A conflict that gives rise to analysis is a construct founded on information collected from different sources

Objectives

Methods

Findings

Conclusion